Dave in Green

We've discussed this year's rotation in several different threads, with guesses ranging from 8-11 players might eventually end up in the regular rotation. Coach Dambrot was asked about having 11 players in the first half rotation in the UNCA game. Without prompting, he volunteered 9 as the magic number he's looking for. I don't know if that's an absolute that he wouldn't consider going over or under depending on circumstances. But 9 is apparently his optimum number. Today's starters are obviously all in the rotation: 1. Rico 2. Walsh 3. Chauncey 4. Tree 5. Zeke The following subs have been playing regular minutes and should be pretty safely in the rotation for various reasons: 6. Harney 7. Melo (only other true PG on the roster) 8. Forsythe (only other true center on the roster) That would leave one spot open for: 9. Kretzer 10. Ibitayo 11. McAdams 12. Justice Kretzer is already playing long minutes and has been amazingly effective on both the offensive and defensive ends for a true freshman. He's also the Zips' leading 3-point shooter for the season so far. I don't see any way he's not in the rotation. Justice has played the fewest minutes of any scholarship player, and is at this point probably least likely to be in the rotation this season. That leaves Ibitayo and McAdams, who are both quality players who've shown lots of potential. KD has said he thought that Deji is about a year away from being a consistently effective player, and McAdams hasn't been as consistent in his overall play as Kretzer. It appears right now that they may not get extended minutes this season, but may be destined for bigger roles next season. Then again, stuff happens and things could always change. Having such a deep, talented roster is great insurance for unforeseen circumstances. Anyone else have any different thoughts?

For perspective on how good or bad these teams are, the following is taken from the current Pomeroy rankings of all 347 D1 teams: 68. Middle Tennessee 74. Akron 89. Penn State

"This is an NCAA tournament team when they're whole," says the announcer about the Zips.

Might as well get used to the Zips playing their best ball in the second half. The Zips offense was adequate in the first half, and it's good to see Zeke leading the scoring with 10 points. But there's no excuse for allowing PSU to shoot its highest percentage of the season with their PG and best player on the bench. I expect to see the Zips buckle down and play a much better overall game in the second half.

Odd, I don't see tOSU anywhere in the BCS standings.

Wow. After#1 Alabama loses last week, this week's #1 (Kansas State) and #2 (Oregon) both lose tonight. Time for Notre Dame haters to retire to their bomb shelters. The suddenly relevant Irish are the only undefeated team left, and will be the new #1.

We can try ESPNU at 1:30 p.m., but I wouldn't count on it. Every source, including the official tournament schedule, says the 5th place game is on ESPN3. On the ESPN3 schedule, they call this game an ESPN3 "exclusive."

You can also watch ESPN3 if you have an AT&T DSL connection. When you go to ESPN3 on the internet it automatically detects that you are connecting through AT&T DSL.

Should he end up transferring to Mount Union, Josh would be reunited with his former Jackson HS state championship winning coach, Mike Fuline. He'd also be the tallest player on the team, and would give the Purple Raiders a big boost.

The official PR Tip-Off bracket schedule shows the 7th and 3rd place games both on ESPNU, but the 5th place game on ESPN3. The ESPN3 schedule shows the Zips-PSU game starting at 1:30 p.m. EST Sunday. I streamed yesterday's game from ESPN3 on my computer to my big screen TV, and due to network traffic most of the broadcast appeared in low definition. When the connection speed occasionally went up, the picture was almost as good as a HD broadcast.

Zips yards gained per game: 2011 - 277.8 2012 - 435.8 Opponents yards gained per game: 2011 - 427.2 2012 - 449.2 Change: Zips +158 yards per game Opponents +22 yards per game Net change +136 yards per game difference in average yardage in favor of the Zips Zips points scored per game: 2011 - 14.2 2012 - 26.4 Opponents points scored per game: 2011 - 38.5 2012 - 35.7 Change: Zips +12.2 points per game Opponents -2.8 points per game Net change +15 points per game difference in average points in favor of the Zips The typical 2011 game was a 38.5-14.2 Zips loss. The typical 2012 game was a 35.7-26.4 Zips loss. Yeah, I know, a loss is a loss is a loss. But if you don't like the direction this is going, you're brain dead.

Yep, start laying out the case points here, and if someone from UA isn't monitoring this thread, shame on them.

I can confirm that clearing your browser history allows you to vote more than once a day. I hope that all of the hardcore Zips soccer fans are determined not to let UCLA outslam UA.

This may be where the new pressure D pays off. If PSU runs a Charlie Coles offense, the Zips will be well prepared to handle it.

PSU it is. Coach Dambrot knows how to handle a Charlie Coles offense.

Just noticed the halftime score -- 16-14. Charlie Coles is smiling.

And they're in OT.

So, an ugly game vs. PSU and a wear them out with an 11-player rotation vs. Providence.

I'm not watching, but I see the score is 40-39 with a minute and a half left. I hope you mean by "awful" that both teams look like the Zips could rip them up.

Of course, at this point, the focus has to remain on playing the hand your dealt to the best of your ability. But there's a long off-season where this can be dealt with, and it needs to be addressed with pitbull tenacity. It can't be addressed in a brief conversation between UA's AD and the chair of the selection committee. It needs to be addressed by all the "lesser" schools that typically get screwed and the NCAA as an organization. Mr. Wistrcill would make a good leader in this effort, because UA probably has more credibility as a soccer power than any other school outside the BCS elite. He could personally contact several other smaller school soccer powers and see if there's common agreement that something is not right. They could do a thorough study and approach the NCAA as a group demanding specific answers, not gray area generalities. At the very least, they should demand a detailed explanation about why RPI and the coaches and other polls do not accurately predict seeding. It should be transparent that RPI and the polls should come really close to accurately predicting seeding. There should be no major seeding surprises that defy credibility. And, finally, the ultimate power in this discussion would be fueled by the Zips overcoming the seeding insult to win the national championship. If nothing else in this post, I think we can all agree on that.

Forgot to mention that I told someone before the game that I expected Zeke to do well. Why? Because he was going head-to-head against a pretty decent big instead of a bunch of swarming midgets. Zeke is always at his best when he plays against a challenging big. UNCA center D.J. Cunningham, at 6-10, 240 pounds, entered the game as UNCA's second leading scorer and rebounder. Against Zeke (and Pat), Cunningham was 1-9 from the field and had only 3 rebounds in 34 minutes. He was pretty much neutralized. Sometimes we Zips fans get down on Zeke for not appearing to be NBA material when he doesn't dominate against lesser competition. But what NBA scouts are looking at is how he performs against other potential NBA bigs. For example, one of the keys to the Zips upset win over Mississippi State last season was that Zeke shut down Arnett Moultrie. The 6-11 Moultrie was drafted in the NBA's first round after being the only player other than number one draft choice Anthony Davis to average a double-double (points and rebounds) in the tough SEC. Point is, NBA scouts are all aware that Zeke is fully capable of shutting down bigs like Moultrie and Cunningham. If Zeke doesn't do quite as well against guys who will never play in the NBA, what's the difference to an NBA team? They're looking for draft choices who match up well with other NBA draftees. And that's where Zeke really shines. So keep an eye on how Zeke performs in other games this season where he's matched against a quality big, because that's what the NBA scouts will be looking at.

Well, the performance after halftime certainly put to rest from this thread the master of Zips doom and gloom. Lots of kudos to all the players who contributed to this win. But Chauncey deserves a special shout-out after all the grief he was taking for not appearing to perform up to par while he was battling through his injured knee. Imagine what he could do if he was 100%! This brings up an interesting point. With Tree and Harney back, I wasn't expecting Kretzer to start. But after starting and once again playing long minutes, it appears as if he's achieved something that's exceedingly rare on a Coach Dambrot team -- earning a starting position as a true freshman. That starting wing/small forward position used to be Chauncey's. But today's results were spectacular with Chauncey coming off the bench and providing a big energy boost. The big question is whether or not Chauncey can be happy coming off the bench or if he's going to feel like he was "demoted." I'd really be interested in lumberjack's take on this. Is it more important to Chauncey to be a starter or to give the team a big boost off the bench as Q did last season?

If in fact "big wins" are already properly accounted for in the RPI formula, then Mr. Wistrcill was BSed by the chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Selection Committee and the NCAA staff liaison. In that case, the committee elected to give added weight to a factor that was already determined by RPI in order to move some schools ahead of others. As long as the committee can manipulate the numbers to suit their purposes, those with the most clout will continue to get most favored treatment.

If "big wins" are so important, they should simply be given more weight in the RPI/SOS formula, not merely "considered" by a committee that can adjust the results to suit their agendas. If you get the math right up front, you remove a gray area that can be manipulated to favor special interests.

Second round winners who lost in the first round play for 5th place. First round winners who lost in the second round play for 3rd place.